The explosive testimony on Friday of one of Rodrigo Duterte’s trusted police aides is the “start of the reckoning” for the former president and his brutal war on drugs, but “more smoking guns” are needed to pin him down and others for the crimes against humanity case they are facing at the International Criminal Court (ICC).

One of the smoking guns could be the corroboration of retired police colonel Royina Garma’s claim that Duterte had ordered a reward system established for every drug suspect killed in the war on drugs, according to Kristina Conti, lawyer for the families of victims of extrajudicial killings (EJKs) during the past administration, who now belong to the group Rise Up. 

Garma said it was Edilberto Leonardo, a commissioner lately resigned from the National Police Commission (Napolcom), who served as “paymaster” of the supposed reward system.

“If [Leonardo] corroborates, if the people mentioned [by Garma] corroborate, especially in the [police] operations side,” Conti said when asked what would be bigger than Garma’s testimony to help in the ICC case against Duterte et al.

Conti also stressed that she and the orphaned families continue to bank on the investigation being undertaken by the ICC in getting to the bottom of the thousands of EJKs in the country even as Garma testifies at the continuing inquiry of the House of Representatives’ quad committee into the connections among EJKs and human rights violations, the trade in illegal drugs, and Philippine offshore gaming operators. 

“ICC investigators have to take notice of these developments in the quadcom. It is their duty to take cognizance of the matter,” said Conti, who serves as co-counsel in the ICC case.

‘Davao model’

Garma, who initially served as one of the station commanders in Duterte’s bailiwick Davao City before moving on to become Cebu City police chief, said that in May 2016, the then president-elect called her to seek her help in finding a Philippine National Police (PNP) official that would lead the drug war similar to the “Davao model” he planned to enforce nationwide. She said Duterte also wanted this police official to be a member of the Iglesia ni Cristo, but she did not explain why this was his supposed preference.

Per Garma’s testimony, the Davao model involved three level payments—a reward if the drug suspect is killed, funding of planned operations or Coplans (case operation plans), and the refund of operational expenses.

Garma, who last served as Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) general manager under Duterte, said she recommended Leonardo to lead the drug war. She said that in turn, Leonardo coordinated with now Sen. Bong Go—a long-time aide of Duterte who was eventually designated as special assistant to the then president—in setting up the payment and reward system to police officers enforcing the drug war on the national scale.

Leonardo, like Garma, is detained in the House for contempt. He resigned from the Napolcom after her testimony.

Both Go and Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa—who was the PNP chief at that time—have denied their involvement in as well as the existence of the alleged police reward system in the drug war.

Surprise

Garma’s testimony against Duterte came as a surprise in the 14-hour hearing on Friday that extended up to the wee hours of Saturday. She has denied the allegations raised by several witnesses in the quad committee that she was involved in the killing of three Chinese drug lords in a Davao jail as well as the 2020 assassination of PCSO board secretary Wesley Barayuga, a retired police general, in Mandaluyong City.

Speaking with CoverStory.ph on Saturday night, Conti said she and the Rise Up members, who also testified at the quad committee’s hearing before Garma’s explosive testimony, were surprised given that she was “intransigent in the first few hearings.”

“It was a relief to know that we have a high official willing to turn against Duterte,” she said of Garma.

Conti said there were mixed reactions among the Rise Up members: relieved that Garma supposedly found the conscience to tell all, and horrified at the alleged system established to end a life in exchange for money.

But more importantly, Conti said, the orphaned families were elated that the quad committee listened to their stories and recognized their efforts to seek justice for their loved ones killed in the war on drugs.

Rise Up is made up of some 200 families who lost loved ones in the drug war and whom lawyers like Conti had been assisting through the years in the ICC case.

The ICC is currently investigating Duterte’s drug war even if the former president withdrew in 2018 the Philippines’ ratification of the Rome Statute that set up the criminal court. For its part, the ICC said it retains its jurisdiction over the crimes committed prior to the country’s withdrawal.

‘Element of politics’

Conti said Rise Up is inclined to support the ICC investigation because it has “more information, more than the Garma document,” and it has built a case far longer. Also, she added, the ICC is conducting an independent investigation.

“We are very conscious of and we know there is an element of politics in all these,” she said of the House investigation.

She cited allegations that the hearings are being conducted by House lawmakers loyal to President Marcos and against Duterte, whose daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte, has severed ties with the President. She noted as well that Kerwin Espinosa—who alleged at the same hearing that Dela Rosa had ordered him to implicate certain people, including then Sen. Leila de Lima, Duterte’s archenemy, in drug activities—is running for mayor of Albuera, Leyte, in the 2025 elections. Dela Rosa has denied Espinosa’s claim.

“We are more confident that the ICC would impartially look into information that would not be swayed by political colors,” Conti said.

RA 9851

Conti acknowledged that Philippine authorities can investigate the allegations made against Duterte and others during the quad committee hearings through Republic Act No. 9851, which, she pointed out, is the country’s own law on crimes against humanity.

She said that if ever, Garma’s testimony could be made the first case under this law, the Philippine Act on Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law, Genocide, and Other Crimes Against Humanity. But she said it would be difficult to prosecute this case “within our system” given that it would entail proving that the crime was “widespread and systematic.”

RA 9851 “tends to look for connections” and, in this case, stronger evidence is needed to show “who was killed and who killed [the person],” and who ordered the killings, among others, Conti said, adding: 

“Although it’s possible, it would be difficult to prosecute Duterte, Garma and Go just on the basis of Garma’s testimony. Garma is just one piece of the puzzle, and we need other pieces of the puzzle.”

Also, according to Conti, there are many aspects about the war on drugs that are not yet on record, including the so-called quota system (in which police officers’ drug-war accomplishments are tallied) and the “palit-ulo” scheme (in which the police take hostage a family member of a drug suspect who has yet to surrender or to be arrested).

“We are hoping there will be many more who will come forward to complete the pieces of the puzzle. [Garma’s testimony] is the start of the reckoning for Duterte,” the lawyer said.

She said individual murder cases and other cases such as coercion can be filed against the personalities based on the findings of the quad committee, and that the ICC case can still proceed as these are “not mutually exclusive.”

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